Saab Museum opens within a month

According to TTELA (here a link to the article) the Saab Museum opens within a month (about March the 24th).

Click on the above picture of the Ursaab for the latest post on this blog.

Saab news

Nowadays there is still a lot of "news" about Saab. Unfortunately a major part of it is just rumor. This is why no post is made the last days on this blog. "If you have nothing clear to say, say nothing at all" was written this week on SU, and I agree with them about that.

But yesterday (sorry, according to Swedish media) was the cut off date for bids for Saab. No Turkish bid, because they could not make an agreement with GM. But, mr. Qingnian (CEO from Youngman) still wants to buy Saab (according to svt.se). Youngman wants to build new Saabs in Trollhättan as I`ve written before.

According to him (mr. Qingnian) Victor Muller has too many parties invited to save Saab and if he had managed Saab wisely Saab would never had gone bankrupt. I disagree with him about that, without Victor there was no Saab at all. According to Youngman they`re ready to put 2 Billion SK on the table to buy Saab.

The rumor about BMW to save Saab is still not confirmed by the way. But we`ll know soon what happens with Saab, that is confirmed anyway. We know there is a good bid for Saab to (from Youngman). That is good news.

Finally. A part of the Top Gear show this week was about the history of Saab. It is not my most favourite Top Gear episode, but nice to watch anyway.

Saab news from 1960

No "new" news about Saab today...

On the blog of Alexander Kreybig I`ve found a nice Youtube video about Saab from the 60's. It's called Aktuellt om Saab (1960) and is in Swedish. I have embedded the video below.



One of my favourite youtube video`s about Saab is the one of the Saab 95, but maybe that is because I own one.

"News" about Saab

With a bit more then a week before the end of the month we`re all a bit nervous what happens with Saab. As I wrote last week, the administrators want to decide about Saab before or about the end of this month.

Yesterday the "news" came that Youngman comes with an improved (higher) bid. Today the rumor became stronger that BMW really is the European brand interested in the Saab factory (but I have wrote about that too last week). I cannot write more about Saab & BMW than I`ve done last week already. But that many Saabists like the idea is clear (read more about that in this article).

The rumor about BMW is still unconfirmed but that Youngman is determined to obtain Saab is clear. Read more about Youngman in this interview on SU.

Today the administrators (Hans Bergqvist and Anne-Marie Pouteaux) announced at the press conference that up to 15 stakeholders are interested in Saab. But only six to seven of those want to purchase the entire estate.

Saab Car Museum reopens

As we all know Trollhättan City won the bidding in conjunction with the defense and security company Saab AB and the Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg Foundation. The partnership has offered 28 million for the museum with the complete car collection.

Earlier today I`ve written a date for the new opening. But unfortunately the info on my source (Innovatums website) was wrong and has been removed. There is no decision taken yet when the museum will be reopened. But they are working on that.

Positive news about Saab(s)

Rumors today about GM talking to parties interested in buying Saab. Nothing confirmed, but maybe it worked to occupy GM`s message board on Facebook. I`ve checked it this morning, but still a lot of nice Swedish cars are popping up there.

According to TTELA Youngman comes back to Sweden next week. That is positive news of course, they want to proceed with Saab.

This morning in the FD (het Financieele dagblad / the Dutch "Financial Times") there was an article about a nice Saab 9-3. Below the text (in Dutch). As long as the newspapers write about Saab the brand Saab is not dead in my opinion.

Fiscalist Jaap Bruinsma rijdt zijn leven lang Saab. Later verkoopt hij ze weer in Duitsland, wat soms leidt tot een bloederig gevecht met de Belastingdienst.


Wie: Fiscaal jurist Jaap Jan Bruinsma, vennoot bij Adbeco Accountants en Belastingadviseurs, heeft een zwarte Saab 9-3 Turbo X 2.8 V6.

Auto: ‘Ik rijd al mijn hele leven Saab. Momenteel een Saab 9-3 Turbo X uit 2008, die alleen in zwart is uitgebracht. Die kleur hoort bij zijn imposante uitstraling. Ik heb hem door Hirsch, de huis­tuner van Saab, laten tunen met een speciale grille en een carbon ­leren dashboard. Er zitten 19-inch-velgen op, en een dubbele uitlaat. De auto heeft de uitstraling van Darth Vader. Er zijn er maar tweeduizend van gemaakt, waarvan er een in het Saab-museum staat. Deze heeft met 300 pk veel vermogen. Ik vind het prettig om extra vermogen te hebben, al rijd ik niet elke morgen met 180 naar kantoor. Ik ben geen wilde rijder. Hij past niet echt bij mijn rijstijl.’

Waarde: ‘All-in, met alle extra’s, kostte hij mij €55.000. Ik koop mijn Saabs in Duitsland. Na de aanschaf van deze in 2010, bij een dealer in Dresden, heb ik met de Belastingdienst nog wel een bloederig gevecht moeten leveren over de bpm (belasting van personenauto’s en motorrijwielen, red.). De Belastingdienst wilde de bpm berekenen op basis van 2010 en ik op ­basis van 2008.’

Accessoires: ‘Het is een allwheeldrive met navigatie, parkeersensoren, open dak, elektrisch verstelbare leren stoelen met geheugen, maar zonder automaat. Ik schakel liever.’

Andere vervoermiddelen: ‘Een Saab, een 9-5 Aero Estate uit 2005, voor privé. Die is ook zwart.’

Kilometers: ‘Ik rijd zakelijk jaarlijks 25.000 ­kilometers.’

Indruk op anderen: ‘Mensen vinden hem heel stoer. Saab staat bekend als een degelijk merk, maar deze ziet er vrij bruut uit. Dat bevalt mensen wel. Saab is een calvinistische auto. Je pronkt er minder mee dan met een BMW 5-serie. Maar een Saab is duurder dan je denkt.’

Uitstraling bedrijf: ‘Ik denk dat je als vennoot van een onderneming als Adbeco niet in een heel dure auto moet rijden, zoals een Jaguar of Bentley. BMW’s en Audi’s zijn wel geaccepteerd. Mijn Saab is wel wat ­gewaagder dan de gemiddelde ­accountantsauto, maar wij zijn dan ook geen gemiddeld kantoor. We hebben vestigingen in China en veel internationale fiscale kennis. Ook zijn we direct in het contact met klanten.’

Status: ‘Ik vind het prettig om een mooie, uitgesproken auto te rijden. Hij heeft wel het vermogen, maar is geen sportauto. Ik ben daar geen type voor.’

Droomauto: ‘Dit is mijn droomauto. Het is een geluk dat ik in 2008 nog niet aan een nieuwe auto toe was, waardoor ik hem in 2010 tegen een scherpe prijs kon kopen. De 9-3 Turbo X kan wedijveren met de Audi R4 en BMW M3, maar Nederlanders willen zo’n bedrag niet uitgeven aan een Saab. Saab is niet failliet gegaan omdat het zo veel auto’s verkocht. Het zijn verschrikkelijk goeie auto’s.’

Six or seven companies interested in the Saab car factory

Yesterday I`ve written that the administrators want to make the decision about the Saab car factory before the end of this month (february). What I did not know at that moment was that there are 6 or 7 companies interested in the Saab car factory! That Saab `ll be saved seems not to be the question anymore!

These 6 or 7 companies are all interested in acquiring the entire Saab company (except the Museum and Saab parts of course). There are rumors that BMW is the European company interested in Saab. They had contacts before with Saab in 2010 (engine deal), let us hope this rumor is true. I personally do not have a good feeling about Fiat to own Saab. Look to what they did with Lancia. BMW has a lot of success with Mini, with Saab they can do the trick again.

The above picture is from my "Spykersaab" convertible (I do not like text without pictures). Do you have a nice picture of your Saab? Feel free to post at our Facebook page and I`ll use it on this blog!

Click here to see the Saabs in the Trollhättan Saab Museum.

Decision about Saab before end of the month

The decision about the Saab car factory could come before the end of this month according to P4 West / saabsunited. We can write a lot of sense and nonsense about the 5 possible buyers, but Saab needs just 1 new owner. Lets stay calm and wait. We`ve worried a lot about the museum and suddenly it was saved. Let us hope this story repeats for the Saab car factory.

This afternoon I was at the maintenance shop of our local airport because my Cessna (dead battery). Saw the above Saab 91 Safir (PH-RLD) again, could not resist to make a picture. I hope the administrators did sell the Saab 91 Safir to the new owners of the museum (it was not mentioned on the pdf therefor I`m still a bit worried it`s sold separately).

Youngman delegation returned to China.

The Chinese delegation from Youngman has returned to China writes TTELA. That they are returned does not mean they are not interested in Saab anymore. They `ll be back soon.

But according to Dagens Industri (a Swedish newspaper and maybe this is just rumor) Mahindra (the Indian car manufacturer) is considering a withdrawal from the bidding process. The stubborn resistance of General Motors to possible new owners of the Saab car factory is said to be the reason. Mahindra made a bid for Saab earlier this week.

This morning I`ve put the Troll sticker on all my Saabs. If you want a Troll sticker too on your own Saab, just contact Onno Kempink and he`ll send you one by mail.

Electric Saabs, made in China...

On the first sight the pictures below are made from a real Saab 9-3, just the current one. But look at the logo`s! You`re looking at a brand new Baic "9-3". This 9-3 is expected to be the 1st succesfull Chinese electric car.

Saab sold the last generation 9-3 and 9-5 platform to Beijing Auto Industry Corporation in late 2010 for 195 million USD, along with several different engines and gearboxes. If Youngman obtains Saab and succeeds to build the current 9-3 there are 2 "identical" Saabs on the market (at least in China). Besides the logo the only difference is the engine.

What I don`t understand is why Baic & Panasonic are bidding on the Saab factory to build electric Saabs if they already are able to do that in China. Can someone explain that to me?

Save the Saab car factory

The last week we had a lot of rumor about Saab, but as far as I can see still nothing has happened with the factory. Victor Muller has joined the Brightwell camp, but (again) as far as I know they still did not make a bid yet. Mahindra & Mahindra did, Youngman too. Baic (an other Chinese company like Youngman) and Panasonic are also looking for Saab, they want to make electric Saabs, but I`ll make a separate post about that because I do (at the moment) not understand why.

Maybe the administrators just are waiting now for Brightwell to bid (because the others did already). The administrators just need to know which company gives them the best price, right? I really hope the soap comes to a good end soon, it`s time to get back to work for the trolls.

Some posts ago I`ve written something about the Saab Safari. Not the plane, but the car (yes there is a Saab Safari plane too, and I do not mean the Saab Safir). This time I just want to share the picture of an other rare breed in the Saab museum, the Solstad 9000.

The Solstad 9000 is a Saab 9000CS converted by Solstad to a cartransporter. The one in the museum has a 150hp engine and a small collision damage. But you already knew of course because that written in the pdf with the cars in the museum (page 122).

Mahindra & Mahindra has placed a bid for Saab too

Also the Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra has placed their bid for Saab too! Let`s hope the soap ends soon now and that the Saab factory can restart soon.

There was also a press-conference this morning held by the bankruptcy administrators by telephone. According to them their intention is to sell Saab as a whole. Saab `ll just go to the one with the highest bid.

New bid for the Saab car factory

New bid for the Saab factory
According to Dagens Industri there is a new bid for Saab, they do not mean the multi-billion bid from Youngman but an other European company. Frederick Sidahl, president of Automotive Suppliers, FKG has not given up hope that the Saab factory in Trollhättan can resume production "we have received prior notice from the administrators that they are working to sell Saab as a whole". This statement is not changed, he told Dagens Industri.

Saab Museum Gallery
Alexander has made a new Saab Museum Gallery, some pictures are old, some new, all of them a have higher resolution as the pictures in the earlier galleries he has made.

Do you have pictures too from Saabs in the wild or in the museum? Feel free to share them with us on our Facebook page!

Youngman bid for Saab rejected!

Sad news.

How fast can things go. According to different sources the Youngman bid is rejected. The receivers seem to hope for a higher bid and/or a better result when Saab is cut into pieces.

They have an offer from Youngman of several billion crowns now, let's wait and see if Brightwell (or Mahindra) can offer the receivers a better deal. All we can do now is wait and be patient.

There are rumours that Brightwell is in contact with GM and working on a bid. As long as it remain rumours it's maybe better not to give it much attention.

Click on the image of the Ursaab (on top) to see the latest post on this blog.

Youngman has placed the bid for Saab

Youngman did place a bid for Saab! They want to make cars in Trollcity! Let us hope their bid is high enough. What a great news! Museum is saved, the factory maybe very soon follows. Rachel if you read this: THANK YOU!!!!

Youngman launched its bid as early as last Monday, they really want to build cars in Trollhättan. The current bid is three billion (swedish crowns I suppose). Now the receivers are considering it. It`s still possible that Mahindra & Mahindra from India or Brightwell (from Turkey) make a better bid compared to the Youngman one. But it seems 2012 is the year new cars `ll be made in Trollhättan!

It is the end unfortunately for the 9-4X SUV (which was in fact a Mexican car and not made in Trollhättan) and the Saab 9-5NG. The 9-5NG is too much competition for GM apparently, they do not want to give Youngman (or anyone else) the right to build this great Saab. I for myself think it is still possible that GM changes his/her mind (nah, it is a his). There is a saying "if you can`t beat them, join them". It`s nearly a fact that they could not beat Saab, so... it does not make sense to see Saab as a foe instead of a client.

Youngman wants to build New-Saab 9-3`s and Lotus sportcars in the Trollhättan factory. The Saab factory is one of Europe's most modern and efficient factory for cars.


Click on the picture of the Ursaab on top of this page to see the latest post on this blog about Saab.

Dutch NedCar helps Saab accidently

According to the dutch Financial Times I`ve got this morning (FD)Youngman was not in the race for Saab in the first place. One year ago Youngman had plans to invest money in the dutch company NedCar (owned by Mitsubishi). NedCar refused and Youngman changed their plans to Saab. I hope this time they have more luck. Thank you NedCar! Read (a part) of the article (in Dutch) below.

De Chinese bussenbouwer Youngman heeft een jaar geleden serieuze interesse gehad om fors te investeren in het noodlijdende NedCar.
Het management van Nedcar in het Limburgse Born, de enige autofabriek van Nederland, hield echter de boot af.

Dat blijkt uit gesprekken met betrokkenen. Na het afketsen van de onderhandelingen verlegde Youngman teleurgesteld zijn belangstelling naar het Zweedse Saab, eigendom van het Nederlandse Spyker Cars van topman Victor Muller. Het mislukken van een investering is wrang, omdat inmiddels sluiting voor NedCar dreigt. Eigenaar Mitsubishi neemt daar uiterlijk volgende week een beslissing over.

Totaal geen interesse

‘NedCar wilde nergens over nadenken, eigenlijk was er totaal geen interesse’, zegt een nog steeds teleurgestelde Klemens Höbing, de vertegenwoordiger van Youngman in Duitsland, waar de Chinezen samenwerken met het Duitse truckbedrijf MAN en MAN-dochter Neoplan. Youngman voert nog steeds onderhandelingen om het inmiddels failliete Saab over te nemen.

First donation Saab Museum received in Trollhättan

A German Saab enthusiast from Darmstadt has sent 500 crowns to the new owners of the Saab museum after he understood the museum is saved. This nice guy has the phrase "Made in Trollhättan by Trolls" on his Saab just like I have on my 95. Of course a lot more people are willing to donate to the museum, this can be a good way to get extra funding for the museum because it`s rather costly to run (it is estimated at 3 million dollars per year).

According to Jonathan Sulo (a Saab driver too) it is costly too in Sweden to manage cash donations like the German Saab enthusiast did. Better wait for an official donation solution he wrote this afternoon. This sounds reasonable, let`s wait until the new owners decide to open up donations from the public. It is a great idea to ensure future success of the Saab Museum in Trollhättan.

Click here if you want the Troll sticker! I`ve ordered one 3 of them tonight, the one on my own Troll (below) needs replacement and my other Saabs want a sticker too.

Click on the image of the Ursaab (on top) to go to the latest post on this Save Saab blog!

BLS to be traded for a Saab 95 Van?

It`s Wednesday now and as far as I know there is still no official bid for the Saab factory placed. It seems Rachel takes her time, so no post about the Saab factory today.

This time something about a car not shown in Trollhättan yet. In my opinion the Cadillac BLS currently in the museum is a good candidate to be traded in for the Saab 95 Van. Ok, I`m joking but this really is a nice Saab don`t you think?

The 95 Van (I have never seen one in the wild) is made special for Norway and Denmark. This Saab was delivered without rear seat and lacks the rear windows. I do not have much more information about this car unfortunately. But I sure like this Saab!

For me it is a good idea to trade in the BLS for the 95 Van, but everyone can understand this is a costly business for the new owners of the museum. We all want a 95 Van, but I can't imagine someone wants to have a BLS :).

Besides the above mentioned BLS there are also Saabs in the Museum in Trollhättan :), they`re all together on this pdf.

Click on the image of the Ursaab above this post to go to the latest post on this blog.